Monday, January 31, 2011

Beautifully phrased civility

Richard Dreyfuss, as part of his campaign against incivility in public discourse, responded to the question of whether Ed Schultz's wish that Dick Cheney would "go to the Promised Land" was incivil by saying, no, it was a beautifully phrased comment.

I would like, then, in the spirit of civility, to request that Mr. Dreyfuss go make love to himself.

"Well, obviously he was just, like, parodying fundamentalist Christian rhetoric or something man, and didn't mean it, so it's totally fine..."... is pretty much the only way I can see Dreyfus getting away claiming that's acceptable (and even that's dicey).

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"The creation myth was the essential bond that held the tribe together. It provided its believers with a unique identity, commanded their fidelity, strengthened order, vouchsafed law, encouraged valor and sacrifice, and offered meaning to the cycles of life and death. No tribe could survive long without the meaning of its existence defined by a creation story. The option was to weaken, dissolve, and die." ~ E.O. Wilson